Beyond 'diagnostic error': an ethnography of resilient behaviours and system adaptations in paediatric outpatient diagnosis.

Diagnostic safety research often focuses on errors rather than how clinicians and systems successfully manage uncertainty. This ethnographic study examines pediatric outpatient diagnostic encounters involving children with medical complexity. Researchers identified resilient behaviors from patients/families, clinicians, and systems to navigate diagnostic complexity. The findings broaden diagnostic excellence toward understanding how teams anticipate, adapt to, and recover from diagnostic challenges.